The Tinkling Piano
by Myno
Summary: AU. After the death of their parents, siblings Wally and Shayera try to move on with their lives. Wally as a track star and Shayera in her love life.
1. Chapter 1: Monday

The Tinkling Piano

Faster.

Faster.

Its the only way coach will let me run these days.

"Come on West! My elderly mother can run faster than that!"

This is me training for what could be the most important track meet of my life. I leave everyone in the dust of course as I race around the track. As I come around the bend I can see Coach, his arms folded and frowning. He isn't happy to say the least.

I'm by far the fastest person in my school, my neighborhood, and probably in the whole division and Coach knows it better than anyone else. He still pushes me to my limit and most times beyond that. I know it's only because he wants the best for me. I know that it's a good thing that someone in my life besides Shayera has high hopes for me. I know that there are few people who could have better opportunities than I do, but my sore muscles scream for a life with less opportunities.

Unfortunately, the bills piling up on the kitchen counter don't agree.

I'm already kicking it into high gear but a want to go just a little bit faster because I want to make coach proud. I want to earn all the nicknames the teachers and students have for me. Flash, the fastest man alive.

So I push myself harder. And harder. And harder. Until finally….

I trip.

I turn into a human tumble weed covered in dirt and filled with shame as the other runners all pass me. I scramble to my feet but it's already too late. They have all just passed the finish line by the time I get back up to a jog. I can't even look Coach in the face as I pass it myself, I'm sure he has the most disappointed look on his face though.

I go sit on the bench while he commends all the other runners and wallow in my own self pity. After he's finished with them he comes over and stands over me. I don't meet his gaze.

"Look at me son."

I slowly tilt my head up, expecting to see an angered face but when I look up he's got almost an expression of pity. It's very off putting.

"This Saturday will be the most important track meet of this schools history. One of the top track and field colleges in the country is coming to scout out you. We are talking full scholarship. Dorm, classes, the whole nine yards. And it's all for you Wally," he jabs a sausage-like first finger into my chest. "Because you are the best athlete this school has ever seen. You need to be at your best."

"I know Coach. I sorry that I choked. I just lost focus for a second. It won't happen again unless I'm eating dinner." I smirked a little at my little play on words. He didn't.

"You're darn right!" He started to look and sound a bit angry now. "You choked because you lost focus! Now tell me: what on earth could be so important that you forgot you were running and tripped on the air? And I swear to God West, if you tell me that you're having problems at home I will send you down to the guidance councilor and kick you off the team!"

OK fine, I won't tell the truth.

"Well, there's this girl in my homeroom…."

"Stop." He runs a hand over his face. Coach has a soft spot for guys on the team who are bit by the love bug. Time to use that to my advantage.

"Coach, I really love her though! I can't get her out of my head." I'm standing up now. "She's so beautiful! I know that she feels the same too!"

The way he's looking at me I can tell that he almost believes me. Time to crank it up to 100%.

"The way she says my name just makes me melt inside."

He sighs as he unfolds his arms and puts his hands on his hips. That's a tell-tale sign he's just tired of dealing with me during school hours. I've got him.

"Alright look, do what you need to do to get this through your system because come Saturday, you will do me and this school proud by giving us 110%. Do you understand?"

I stand at attention and salute. "Yes sir!"

"Good." That satisfied him. "Now go shower and get outta here."

I throw a thumbs up and run off to the showers. On the way I hear him grumble something about having to work with horny teenaged boys.

That little white lie just saved me I'm pretty sure cause I'm sure he wouldn't want to hear about my messed up life.

When I get back to our apartment, the first thing I see are the bills stacked up next to the stove. When they first started piling up next to the stove, I made the joke to Shayera that their placement was symbolic.

It was the first joke I made since they died.

Of course. I couldn't help but think of them when I walked into the living room too because of dads upright piano taking up most of the space. Of all the momentos and gifts and everything that our parents had bought us, the only thing we managed to hold on to was that piano.I'm kind of glad it was the only thing that we were able to keep of my parents. So much of our history was around it.

My parents met at this piano actually. My dad was working as a piano teach at the time and my mom was taking an interest in music. This was the piano he wrote his first of many love songs on for her. This was the piano he had proposed next to. This was the piano that my mom told my dad she was pregnant on. This was the piano that my sister banged on to no end. This was the piano that I learned to play piano on with my dad. This was the piano that my parents gave us "the talk "on.

I'm pretty sure that all the most important things in my life happened around that piano. It's kind of like a part of me now.

After going through that painful jaunt down memory lane, I head into the kitchen to find a snack before dinner. I open the fridge and find only milk, mayonnaise, some moldy cheese, and loaf of bread. I still don't get why Shayera puts the bread in the fridge, it doesn't seem logical to me but whatever. She pays the bills, or at least what we can so I don't make a stink about it.

I close the fridge and get some water instead and go sit at the piano. At first I'm just running my fingers over the keys without any purpose then I accidentally press down with a little more force and the sudden unexpected sound startles me a bit, but then I do it again. I still have no purpose until I press the g-sharp key.

That was the first key in one of the only compositions I know how to play. It's been so long since I've played this thing and the keys are a little out of tune but there's no mistaking that sound. There's no mistaking the way that specific key resonates.

I'm scared to start, but once I do it feels as if I never stopped playing it. I don't know the name of the piece or who composed it, but its the only song that I remember from when my dad taught me. When I was younger it was such a jovial song, but now as I play it it sounds so sad and melancholy. So filled with emotion and sorrow. I remember watching my dad play and just being so enthralled by his playing, by his smile. Except when he played this song.

When he played this song, he never smiled. He was so devoid of emotion, and as I play it now I wonder how he could do that. How he could play a song so beautiful with such a straight face.

I remember sitting on his lap as he played, my hands on top of his. Feeling like I was the one who stopped time in all those peoples hearts. I remember Shayera always watching his hands so she could copy them later, but never being able to.

There's a point nearing the beginning of the outro I can't remember how to play exactly so I stop.

"Please." I hear behind me. "Keep going, don't stop."

I don't need to turn around to know its my sister behind me. I hear the desperation in her voice. Its the same desperation that I feel as I play this piece. So I do what she says, I keep going. This time get so lost in it that I don't even notice her sit down until she starts clapping when I finish. I turn to her and smile.

I feel so emotionally and physically drained, more than any track meet or practice could make me.

"I miss them. So much." she says looking more crestfallen than I've seen her look in awhile. She almost never lets her emotion show through her shell so I try to make the most of the situation.

"I know." I turn around to face her. "I miss them too."

There's a long silence now and right before I say something, she shakes her head as if to shake away the thought. "How did practice go today?" Her shell is back up.

I rub the back of my neck. "Well, I didnt have the greatest day. Coach chewed me out today cause a had a little blunder."

She sighs. "Wally you have to do better. That's your only chance for a better life than this."

I don't know what to say. I feel like such a little kid when she talks like this to me. Must be an ingrained younger brother reflex or something.

"Its too late for me to do much with my life but you've got so much ahead of you. You have a future running. There will be money and fame and girls for you if you do this. You could have a normal life. A life where you don't have to go some nights without something to eat. A life where you could afford to have an expensive place, a great car, and a nice girl. You could settle down, buy a house, raise a family."

I didn't know how to tell her that I didn't want any of that without her. So I just smiled and looked away.

She smiled at that because she thought that we were on the same page.

I decided to change the subject. "How was your day at work?"

He smile faded. "Well, I didn't have that great of a day either. We were just really busy today and…." She kind of trailed off, most likely trying to figure out what she should tell me and what she should keep to herself.

"What?"

She gave me the smile she used after mom and dad passed and the court declared her my legal gaurdian. "Nothing just focus on your school work and on running track. I'll take care of everything else."

I wasn't very happy with that declaration but I didn't know how to argue with it. "Hey, what do you know about that song I was just playing? What did dad ever tell you about it.?"

She thought carefully for a moment then she spoke. "That song was the only song dad wrote that didn't have any words. He never named it but whenever I would ask him to play a song that was always the one that he chose. He told me a few different meanings for it. One time he said it was a sad song, another time he said it was a happy one, but most times he would say it didn't have a specific feeling to it. He would say that was up to the listener when he said that though."

That got me thinking. "I think I want to name it."

She laughed. "And what, pray tell, would you name it?"

"You see, that's why I named you Hawkgirl, cause you're always swoop in and attack me, every chance you get."

We both laughed at that one.

"Seriously though, I think I'm going to name it: The Tinkling Piano."

She howled with laughter. "I think that is a horrible name, why don't you play The Tinkling Piano again then, huh?" she said rolling her eyes.

"Certainly." I said with a smile. That night I played that beautiful song, the one my father wrote, for Shayera until she fell asleep on the couch.

Every single time though, every single time I could feel the entirety of every shred of emotion in each sound. I've never felt this way about anything ever before.


	2. Chapter 2: Tuesday

The tinkling piano

Shayera was sick of working in the dollar store.

So sick that she wanted to throw up every time she walked into work. The only reason that she hadn't quit her job yet was a 6' 2'', red haired, brat that her parents had taught her to call brother. Actually, that was only half the reason. The other half was to keep up appearances. She never talked about it with him though and truth be told, she wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to stand it before she finally snapped.

It wasn't that she couldn't take the work load or that she hated the people she worked with. She just hated the monotonousness of her job.

The same people would come in and buy the same things and make the same comments. One woman would always come in specifically to buy her hygiene products. Two preteens would come in every day after school to buy snacks that would spoil their dinner, not that she cared what the little runts were doing in their lives.

Everything was so gray and socially flavorless at her job. At least before 1:30 every day, because at 1:30 every day for the past six months, a man would come in.

"He'll be here soon," Shayera thought "then I'll be able to get through the rest of this day. I only need a few moments next to him, just a few." she she watched the clock vigorously bitting on her thumbnail and bouncing on her right leg, counting the seconds until 1:30.

This man would always wear a black Fedora, a black trench coat, black pants, and black shoes. If a police lineup was setup, you wouldn't be able to tell him apart from any other man. Except for one of his physical features.

One feature so prominent, so bold, so striking, that no matter how average he may appear to be, one look at this feature would differentiate him from every other male on the planet.

This feature was his eyes.

His eyes that matched the color of the ring that sat upon his ebony fingers. That wonder-inducing emerald green. It was this and only this that first drew her into his loving embrace.

She got so distracted in her thoughts that she almost missed the chime of the bell as he walked in. Time for the show to start.

The man walked in to the aisle with the stationary items. That was her que to look around the store and see who was watching. That list consisted of an old woman paying with all change and her workmate Dave who never actually did much work.

Once she confirmed the coast was clear, she passed by the stationary aisle and winked at him so he knew to follow her. They went three aisles down, to a spot where the cameras couldn't see them and they embraced. Her arms around his neck and his around her waist. They stood like that a long time.

"John." She gave a sigh of relief as she said his name, as if by saying it a tremendous weight was lifted off her shoulders.

"Shayera," he said just as breathlessly "it has been an ordeal since I last saw you."

"John." Shayera sighed again, so relaxed to be in his presence, she felt as though she could let down all of the walls she put up to keep others at bay.

"How are you?" John asked

"Better, now that you're here."

They separated.

"What are you doing tonight? I want to take you out."

"Take me out where?" She asked with the biggest smile plastered on her face.

John waggled a finger in front of her face. "No, no, no. Thats for me to know and you to find out." He gave her his best smile.

Shayera loved everything about John, except the fact that his smile made her feel like a silly schoolgirl with a crush. She could hardly believe that he had that effect on her.

"When and where do we meet?" she inquired

"I was thinking I'd come pick you up from your house."

Her smile faded almost immediately. "John, you know why you can't do that."

He sighed. "I know, I know. You said, for some reason, that if I came to your house I wouldn't love you anymore. I just don't understand, what could your house possibly be like for me to break off our engagement? "

Her eyes grew wide at those last words. "Keep your voice down!" She looked around, searching for someone's listening ear. "I don't want anyone to hear!" She whispered.

He sighed. "Shay, you know I love you." He took her tiny hands in his. "I want to marry you, I will marry you. But we have to be honest with each other."

She looked down her hands, which were currently being dwarfed in his hands. "I know." She finally uttered softly.

He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, "Call me tonight." Then he let go of her hands and walked out of the store.

After he walked away, she felt physically cold and his words kept ringing in her ears.

"We have to be honest with each other."

She tried to shake those thoughts away but they stuck with her all day. As she walked home, she had to deal with the simple fact that every time his words rung in her head, she would be reminded that she lied to him.

She would have been able to push those thoughts away, but when she opened the door, she heard Wally playing The Tinkling Piano. She wasn't ready to hear that song again no matter how many times he'd played it for her yesterday. It would always remind her of the first time her father had played it for her.

She was only about 8 years old coming home from scool and her baby brother was finally able to endure listening to his father play the piano without it hurting his ears. She walked into the house and heard her father playing a piece she didn't know, which was strange because she knew all the pieces he could play.

Today he was playing The Tinkling Piano, for Wally. Of course, at the time, Wally felt as though he had better things to do, just like all 2-year-olds do, so he waddled out of the room and into his mothers legs.

When her father noticed that Wally had left and Shayera had entered, he picked up his 8 year old daughter, sat her on his lap, and proceeded to inquire about her day.

Shayera told him everything that happened that day. She told him about the little art projects they did at school, she told him about all the jokes she made with her friends, she even told him about the rumbling noise the bus made as it drove her home.

Her father listened to every word she said, he even asked questions and laughed at appropriate times. As she got older though, their talks like this became more and more infrequent. Shayera even remembered the first time that he didn't seem at all interested in her day. That was when she began to lie, when she began to tell only half truths to the most important man in her life.

The worst part was that he died never knowing that Shayera had lied to him nearly every day.

She had told him that she had plenty of friends when there were none. She had told him that she had a boyfriend when the guy she liked paid no attention to her. She had told him that she enjoyed her life when she cried herself to sleep most nights. She created an entire persona that she believed was only for her father but she began to use it as a crutch too, to help her cope with her miserable life.

When they died, she mourned their deaths and thought she would be able to move on and she did, eventually. When she did though, she felt empty, numb. She had no one to lie to, no one to pretend with, no one who would take her word for truth. Wally was dealing with his own feelings and she couldn't possibly tell him all the lies that she told her Father.

She felt completely alone.

And then she met John.

She was a waitress at a fancy restaurant where she felt too numb to wait tables on people who thought they were too "high class" for her so her boss fired her after the first two months. She sat at one of the tables unaware that someone else was sitting across from her.

"You don't seem to be having a good day."

That person scared the loving daylights out of Shayera.

"Jesus!" She exclaimed as she jumped out of her skin. She noticed that someone was sitting across from her and she started stammering to get out of the situation.

The man smiled. "It's fine, I could use the company and you look like you could too. Please order something, my treat."

Shayera was so tired and so stressed out from her parents passing and Wally moving in with her that she took up this stranger on his offer. He introduced himself as John and seemed like an all around charming guy. He asked appropriate questions and didn't pry which reminded her of her father. Always so willing to listen. She took advantage of it.

She told him so many lies that night that she could hardly remember what was the truth.

He had taken a liking to her and asked her out for a second date. Then a third and a fourth and so on until he finally told her that his mom had passed away from cancer a few years earlier otherwise he would be taking Shayera to meet her. She wanted so bad to talk to him about her parents death but she couldn't risk telling him the truth because she loved him and she couldn't bear the thought of losing him.

When the time was right though he proposed.

She took a step back and then another. She closed the door to her apartment closing off the the sounds that lulled her asleep the night before. She leaned back against the wall in the hallway and slid to the ground. She couldn't take the lies anymore. She yearned to speak the truth to someone. There had to be someone she didn't love, someone who could listen.

But there wasn't.

She ended up calling John and getting him to pick her up from a nearby gas station.

John, of course, was there almost before she had hung up the phone.

"What's going on Shay? You look like you've been crying."

Though she was still puffy eyed, it was obvious she had been crying. She wouldn't let him know that though. "Ha! I guess you don't know me as well as you think!" her smile waned a little after she thought about the truth in the words she just said.

John smiled. He knew that Shayera liked to project a tough-as-nails aura but she couldn't fool him, he knew she would tell him later, there weren't any secrets between them.

Or so he thought.

Shayera directed him to the nearest grocery store. Inside the store, she made John buy a pack of water balloons, a few water bottles, two plastic buckets, and the junkiest junk food she could find, not that she had to force John to buy things for her, he was more than willing.

"Ah, so your brother must be having a few of his friends over for a water balloon fight." John eventually realized.

"What?" Shayera gave him a funny look.

"Well that's why we're buying all these immature items right?"

She laughed. "No, these 'immature items' are for us."

John pondered this for a moment. "Yeah, no I still don't get what we're going to use them for."

"That's okay, you will soon enough." she said as she kept walking.

John thought she seemed pretty suspicious but he didn't press it.

They drove from the grocery store to the water front, per Shayeras instruction. They got out and started walking down an old path along the lake.

"Not gonna lie, this kinda feels like a scene from a movie." He struck a dramatic pose. "And they never heard from him again!"

She laughed. "I assure you John, I will let you get one last phone call before I start gnawing on your throat."

He smiled, glad that she seemed more relaxed around him now.

"Want to now something I've noticed about you? You never really laugh, you only smile and sort of chuckle." She looked up at him. "Why is that?"

"Hm, I don't think it ever really occurred to me that I do that, quite interesting."

When they made it some way down the path, Shayera stopped at a large tree stump and gestured him to sit next to her. She then started taking everything out of the grocery bags they brought with them. She took one of the buckets and put it between her feet. Then, taking the water bottles, she opened one of the bags of water balloons and started filling them up.

She didn't say much to John as she was so focused on what she was doing. He decided that the reason that she bought two buckets was so that he could help.

After they finished, he was about to ask her why they were doing all of this but she had picked one up and started squeezing the life out of it. Confused, he watched her with fascination until finally the balloon popped exploding all over her hands and the ground. Then she picked up another one and did it again. And again. And again. She still didn't say anything, then John decided to just follow suit. As he did, he found he quite enjoyed bursting the balloons.

After they had finished, John didn't speak for a long time. He was still trying to figure out why she had them do that. Just when he couldn't take the silence anymore, she decided to speak.

"When I was younger, my parents didn't always get along just like any other couple, but they had different ways of dealing with it. My dad would take my brother and teach him piano. My mother would go to the store and buy water balloons with me. We would come out here and she would fill them up while I ate chips or something. When she was finished, together we would squeeze them as hard as we could until they popped." She smiled no doubt imaging the memories that she shared with her mother all those years ago.

John was so elated to see her talk about something that made her so happy.

As quickly as her smile appeared though, it disappeared about just as fast. "but then one day she just stopped taking me here, I felt like she didn't care about me the way she used to. She stopped talking to my dad, she didn't pay my brother or me any attention. I found out later on though that at that time in her life she had depression. I also found out that she had been taking medication for it and then she just stopped for some strange reason. Her and my dad just became so distant from each other." She started to trail off at the end. "But thats why I brought you here."

John perked up to listen to what she had to say.

"I have depression now too, its mostly self diagnosed seeing as I don't have them money to go see a shrink about it or buy medication for it. I wanted you to know what you're getting into, that if you're going to marry me then you have to take me the way I am." It took so much to just say that and she was sure that he wouldnt take it well. He wouldn't take it well and would dump her right there.

She was ready for it though, she would accept her fate willingly and without remorse.

What she didn't expect was what actually happened.

She could hardly believe it but he had his arms round her, encompassing her. She was still in shock when he whispered into his ear: "That's okay. I'll be your safe haven, your love. I'll be your shoulder to cry, your teddy bear to fight off the demons that come in the night, I'll be your everything completely."

Her voice hoarse and hardly above a whisper said: "That sounds more like an obsession."

She could feel him smiling. "It's not an obsession, it's what those of us who feel it call love."

She couldn't take it anymore. She burst out in tears because she finally remembered what it felt like to be loved.


	3. Chapter 3: Wednesday

The Tinkling Piano

"Bonjour classe!"

"Bonjour Madame Lémérè!" we all groaned. I groaned for a different reason though. French was the last class I had for today, then it would be on to the track and for the first time in my life, that was the only place I didn't want to be.

I was so afraid that I would have a repeat of yesterday, I haven't been able to step foot on a track without getting unbelievably nervous. Yesterday was the worst, I was running so hard that I fell unconscious, which has been happening more and more lately. Coach must have thought that I decided to take a nap and he chewed me out for a half an hour after practice yesterday and it was completely unbearable! The fact that he yelled at me didn't bother me almost at all, what was so terrible about it was that all I could think of was the last time anyone yelled at me like that.

That happened to be when my mother found out that I had taken my first and last hit of marijuana with this dude at my first and last high school party. I didn't like it at all and I declined any further offers from him or his friends but that didn't matter to her. I had done the crime so I had to do the time sort-of-speak, two weeks of time in fact. After that was all done and over with, she made me promise not to go to another high school party like that. I told her fine, not intending to keep my promise.

I haven't even been to another high school social event since.

Speaking of my social life, Shay didn't come home until late last night and it had me worried. She said she just had to work late but she seemed way too elated to have been at work all day. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I couldn't. I didn't know what could make her so cheery or why she couldn't tell me about it.

Today I would have to focus though. I couldn't concentrate with my thoughts on Shayera and what she was doing without me. All I have to do is win the track meet Saturday and I can write my own ticket. There is only one thought that will consume my concentration and focus, only one thought that I will allow to be so powerful.

That thought is me crossing the finishline first.

I lie down and rest after what feels like a running marathon. Coach had us running almost the entire two hours on top of stretches, suicides, and hurdles. I'm really starting to reconsider whether I want to run anymore. Lying in the grass, trying to catch my breath I smile at the thought of doing something other than track for the rest of my life.

Coach stands over me. "I must not be pushing you hard enough if you can smile after a workout like West!"

I straighten myself as if I was standing at attention, which is strange because I'm still not standing and neither one of us is in the military. "No sir!"

"That's more like it!" He says then he walks off to harass one of my other poor teammates.

His recognition of what I was thinking about got me fixated on the idea to do something more with my life. The only thing that I could think of is piano. Oddly enough, it kind of made sense. My dad was a musician before me so I kind of have it in my blood. He always told me I was a natural when it came to the piano. I could make some money giving piano lessons on the side to help with expenses at Shays apartment.

The more and more I thought about it, the more I realized it could actually work.

"Hey Coach, I'll be back I have to use the bathroom."

He kinda mumbled a whatever so I just jogged over to the schools building. Once I got inside, where he couldn't see me anymore, I raced down the hallway past the bathrooms. I went up the stairs and into the band room where the music teacher almost always left the door unlocked and searched through some of the folders on the teachers desk. After about five minutes of searching, I finally found some sheet music that wouldn't be too difficult to learn and raced out of the room and down to my locker so that I could stash them away until I got home.

After all that, I was able to run back to practice and continue training for something I wasn't even sure I wanted anymore. I still did it anyway though mostly because I realized that Shayera wanted this for me. She works hard everyday for us to survive and I don't even think I've really thanked her for it.

Before they died, Shayera was in school learning to be a nurse but my needs derailed all of that. Because she had to take care of me, she had to drop out of school and get a job. She wanted to go to night classes but she couldn't afford them and still take care of me, so she pushed me into running track more than I already was. She couldn't think of any way to take care of me other than having me drop out and then try to get a job. I was more than willing to do that if it would help take care of the growing pile of bills that sat next to the stove but she knew that mom and dad would haunt her from beyond the grave if she ever did that to me.

We were so young and desperate that we couldn't really see past the here and now so we didn't consider all our options. I wish we had though. I might have had a career being a musician instead of an athlete.

After another hour or so of training, Coach finally sends us home. As I'm walking, tired like I don't know what, I star getting a little lightheaded. My vision starts to get darker to the point where I almost can't see in front of me.

Darn it! Not now please not now!

I'm able to make to our apartment before my hearing and sight fade away completely. An extreme feeling of vertigo overtakes me and I collapse onto the couch struggling to breathe normally. Or maybe I crashed into the couch and fell on the floor, I can't tell. There's too much sensory input, there's not enough of everything. I'm hot and cold all over and I'm pretty sure I'm about to puke.

Come on! Stop already!

Usually I'm unconscious by this point so the fact that I'm not tells me that these little episodes are getting longer which isn't a good thing. I'm not sure that I'm gonna be able to survive this one but I have to, I have to be OK for Shayera, as long as she's there I know we'll both be fine. At this point, I feel like I'm holding on by the skin of my teeth.

Then, all of a sudden, I'm not. I'm falling into the abyss that always swallows me up after.

Then, nothingness.

I wake and see that it's dark outside now and that Shay hasn't gotten home yet.

That's a plus.

I also see that I didn't puke all over the floor, this time.

That's also a plus.

I get up and check myself for any injuries I might have sustained but I don't see any so I think I'm good. I stand up all the way.

Huh, well look at that, I did fall all the way on the floor.

That last episode was way more intense than any of the others that I've had as of late. It was definitely the most dangerous seeing as I was unconscious for so long and that no one was around to make sure I was still breathing. I'm about to go into the kitchen to make myself a dinner consisting of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when Shayera walks through the door.

"Hey you!" I say happy to see my sister again after the past few days. I speedwalk over to her and wrap my arms around her pinning her arms to her sides. She just kind of smiles so I lift her up off the ground and that's how I get her to laugh. Well she slightly chuckled but I'll take it.

"Well someone must have had a good day today." She remarks

I think about all the running I've done today and the fact that I almost died a few hours ago. "Well I'm still alive so I guess it wasn't that bad." I say smiling.

This time I almost get a normal laugh, almost.

"Anyway, how was your day?" I say wanting to point out that I just rhymed.

Shayeras smile fades just a tiny bit, it was miniscule enough not to notice but I, of course, noticed it. "It was a little rough in parts here and there but I pushed through it and moved on so it couldn't be that bad." She gave me a smile that was so fake I couldn't help but think about how vague both of our answers were to each other. That reminded me that she was hiding something from me yesterday.

"Shay, I need to ask you something."

"Sure what is it?"

I licked my lips, unprepared for her to be so willing to answer my questions. "Yesterday you told me that you were at work all day but seemed far too jovial to just have a good day at work. My question is what were you doing that made you so happy?"

I saw the recognition of what I was asking wash over her face. She was unable to look into my eyes. She looked away and figeted with fingers as she answered. "I got a second job."

My jaw dropped to the floor. "A second job? Shayera, this first one is wearing you thin as it is! Now you want to get another one? That's a terrible idea!" I finished my little mini rant with smoke seeping out of my ears.

"Wally we don't have enough money to take care of ourselves, we need more. Not want, need! We need money to eat, to pay bills, to buy clothes!"

"Well then let me get a job then! I could skip practice and just run around the track at the park to prepare for my track meets!" I reasoned with her.

"No!" she said so firmly "You're going to graduate high school and go on to be the fastest man alive!"

"Maybe I don't want to run around in circles for the enjoyment of everyone watching!"

She seemed so confused by my words. "What are you talking about?"

"Has it ever occurred to you that I don't want to run anymore?" I looked her dead in the eye when I said that, to let her know I was serious.

She almost seemed as if the thought never ever entered her mind.

I was going to continue but then she started speaking and I felt I had to listen. "Sometimes, as guardians and parents, we have to put aside our dreams and aspirations to take care of our children. Youre not either one of those things and you have a great life compared to most. Don't mess it up. Don't do anything to jeopardize it. If you really want to prove you are an adult then take that bit of advice and follow it."

It occurred to me that if I told her about my episodes, she wouldn't let me run and all the hope she had for me to be "great" in life would be gone. I didn't run because I needed the opportunity, I ran for Shayera. She needed the hope that one day I could do better for myself because she could never take care of me by herself. She was scared for herself because she didn't want to fail my parents. She couldn't bear the thought of me failing because it would feel too much like her own failure.

It was at that moment that I realized fragile my sister was, how weak she was without me. How much she relied on me to do better for the both of us. At that point, I walked over and hugged her from behind pinning her arms just like before.

"Wally! Get off of me! I'm not in the mood right now!"

I didn't let her go.

She wriggled all over the place trying to get free. I will not let her go. She needs this, she has always needed this, and I will always be the one to comfort her.

"Come on Wally!" I hear the hitch in her voice that tells me she on the verge of tears. "I should be the one comforting you, holding you. Not like this, never like this."

I move my arms from around her arms up to her shoulders and head. "Then comfort me." I say slightly above a whisper.

She hugs me and we stand there. We stand there like two siblings with no other family to speak of besides each other and hold each other like our parents should've.


	4. Chapter 4: Thursday

The Tinkling Piano

"I'm sure the kid knows how far to push himself," John thought to himself as he watched the red haired kid fly around the track at the park. The kid, as John often referred to him, was nothing short of astonishing. His first time at the track with John, they made a bet that only the one who lost the race would have to reveal their name. So they raced and the kid won easily, beating Johns time by a whole two minutes.

It's kind of ridiculous but it makes sense. The kid has longer legs and less mass than I do which makes for a leaner frame and, apparently, a faster track time.

He watched the younger man wiz by him again.

Nope. No amount of science could explain that complete and utter garbage.

The human roadrunner skidded to a stop directly in front of John smiling and barely even hyperventilating.

"Come on John, you know you want to get beat by me again." He said smiling

John only laughed, mostly because he didn't have anything he could really say. "Maybe another time kid, I just came for leisurely run today."

"Ooh, sounds exciting." He said sarcastically.

John smiled again. "Being able to run fast is great and all but there's nothing like taking a great jog." John beamed at the wisdom he felt he impressed upon a young mind. The moment didn't last long though.

The red-haired child bent over with laughter.

John didn't know what was so funny or what to do next until the kid stopped laughing. It didn't take too long before he noticed John wasn't laughing.

He quickly composed himself and admitted: "Dude, you sound like an old man!"

John rolled his eyes. "Whatever speedy. Are you coming on the jog with me or what?"

The kid pondered it quickly. "That sounds fun."

"Alright then, not too fast." John didn't wait for an answer before he started his little trot. The weather was almost perfect. The balance of the wind and sunshine made the temperature on his skin just right. Surprisingly, there weren't a whole lot of people outside even with the gorgeous weather. There were a few hardcore runners and a handful of new mothers running with their strollers holding infants. John couldn't help but wonder why. He got his answer 8 blocks into their jog.

The streets were blocked off and there were food carts and little tents all up and down the street. Apparently, there was an art festival going on.

John stopped and turned around. "Hey speedy, you wanna take a mini break and look at some art?"

"Maybe if you stop calling me speedy." He smiled.

Man, John thought, this kid smiles a lot.

"Ok then, does your family have a nickname for you or something that your friends call you?"

The kids smile wavered just a little so that most people wouldn't have noticed it, but of course John did. He almost asked what was wrong, but then the kid smile unwavered.

"The people at school have nicknamed me The Flash."

"Flash it is then."

They walked slowly down the crowded street, not pausing at any of the little tents until one caught Johns eye. It wasn't a large painting it was slightly smaller but its size didn't matter to him. He walked over to it transfixed, like it had some sort of hold on him.

It had three people on it, a man, a woman, and a child. The canvas the painting was on was black but John was still able to pick out the subtle tones of their skin, so similar to his. The man, who John assumed was the father, had extremely long and thick arms wrapped around his wife and child. The wife had normal length arms but they were wrapped around her child only. The child held one of each of her parents hands, her tiny hands being dwarfed by their more adult ones.

"It's of my family."

John jumped, startled by the woman he hadn't seen sneak up on him. He quickly ascertained what she was talking about though. "You're the artist of this painting."

She nodded.

John turned back to the picture. "What inspired you to make it?"

The artist smirked. "When I was growing up, I always had both of my parents living with me. It never occurred to me that I had particularly good circumstances until I noticed that almost everyone around me only had one parent. When I got older, I decided to try art and this is what I created. It isn't just a piece that means something to me, we all want to be one of the people in that picture. We all aspire to be at this point in our lives." she noticed there were some other people interested in buying her work. "If you're interested in buying it, stick around, I'll give you a good price on it." The artist then walked away to help some other people.

John wasn't sure what to do. He saw the kid and he knew what to do. "Come on Flash, breaks over."

The kid saw him and quickly sped over to him. Before they could meet though, John ran off in the opposite direction always staying just ahead of him.

John wasn't too keen on letting the kid see him cry.

John waited impatiently at the restaurant for Shayera. He kept checking his watch and then staring at the door willing her to walk through it. It wasn't that he was mad at her or anything, he was just really overwhelmingly nervous. He had decided to figure out what she wasn't telling him, no matter the cost.

She walked through the door in a yellow silk dress. She was so striking he almost didn't recognize her. She walked over normally but he saw it as one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. He was so distracted by her he forgot to pull out her chair for her. As soon as she sat down realized his mistake.

"Oh, wait! I meant to pull out your chair!" John half stood up flustered.

Shayera laughed. "It's ok John, I know you were probably so dazzled by me that you couldn't think straight."

He tried to defend himself with another quip but none came to mind so he just sat there with his mouth poised to speak. "Uh, yeah you got me on that one."

Shayera laughed again. "Well, John I must say I have never seen you so unsuave, I quite like it."

He smiled as he figured out what he to say. "Well if you keep looking as beautiful as you do in that dress, you'll see me like this a whole lot." He smirked.

They continued their banter until a waiter arrived to take their order. John ordered an expensive bottle of wine and two steak dinners. They continued to talk and laugh throughout their meal. He hadn't seen her so happy and jubilant in such a long time he almost forgot what it was like.

During a particularly quite moment following the laughter from a joke, John decided to make his move but make it with tact. "Shay, have I ever told you about my dad?" he was testing the waters.

Shayeras smirk faded a little but came right back.

Just like the kid, John thought.

"Um, I don't think so."

"Shayera, I want to know you more than anyone else in the world," he silently gulped. "So I'm going to tell you more than I've told anyone else in the world."

And he did. He told her his mom was a high school dropout, and that she met his father by complete accident at a club they were both too young to be in. They'd gotten drinks and hit it off, as his mother always said. Over time they'd gotten better aquianted with each other and one thing led to another and 9 months later John was born. At first both of his parents were happy but then his fathers parents found out about it and that was what ruined things.

His mother found out that his father was the son of a billionaire and that he was grooming his son to be the future CEO of a billion-dollar company. Having an illegitimate child was not part of those plans. Johns father fought tooth and nail over the matter with his own father but eventually he was given an ultimatum. Either he stay with the family company and give his son $1500 a week for the rest of his life or he would be cutoff from the family company, no money, no assistance, nothing. He would be completely on his own without a way to provide for his new family.

He made the only call he felt was reasonable.

He left John and and Johns mother but he gave them a home and a comfortable life.

"I didn't know you had a childhood like that."

John had long since stopped smiling. "Yeah." He said lost in his own thoughts.

"Did you ever get to meet him?"

"Yeah, when I turned 16 he showed up at my house and took me out to basically have a guys day. We went sky diving and got burgers and he bought me a car."

"Whoa, lifestyles of the rich and the famous."

John smiled at her little joke. "Yeah, after that we only hungout a few other times. He was almost always busy with the company and when he wasn't doing that he took care of his own wife and kids. It seemed like he just wanted me to know that he still cared for me or something." he looked up to see Shayeras sympathetic smile and steeled himself for what would happen next. "Now that I've told you about my parents, tell me about yours."

Shayeras heart just about skipped a beat.

 _No no no no no no no. After telling me a story like that how can I possibly tell him the truth. How can I tell him the lies I've told him for so long weren't true?_

Shayera began fidgeting, unsure of how to proceed.

She took a deep breath. "What do you know about my family?"

John looked a little perturbed but he answered her question. "I know that you still live with your parents and you have a younger brother. I don't know any of their names, where you live, or whether or not they know about me. I don't see how we can keep going in our relationship if we aren't honest with each other Shay."

Shayera drunk a bit bit more wine before she continued. "What I'm about to tell you is strictly confidential." she looked directly into his emerald eyes.

He nodded.

"Two years ago my parents died in a car crash." Shayera tried to gauge his reaction but John gave away nothing so she continued.

"They were driving home late from a date night when they apparently had a bit too much to drink and my dad swerved off a bridge and fell into the water. They were killed on impact, dead before they hit the water."

At that point, John let a little emotion through the cracks.

"Me and my brother have been on our own ever since. I had already moved out of the house so I had my own apartment already which made it easier for him to come live with me."

"What's your brothers name?"

Shayera was surprised he was still willing to listen. "Wally." She croaked

John just grunted quietly in response.

Shayera kept going. "He's a good kid. He runs track for his school and he is probably the fastest kid in the division. He's got the best schools in the country scouting him out. He's gonna get a full scholarship to one of them and go on to be an Olympic athlete." Shayera looked down. "Honestly, he has to. We don't have nearly enough money for any other option. I had to dropout from college to get a job and take care of him so we would never have enough money for him to go to community college. We're barely getting by now as it is." she stopped, tears streaming down her face.

There was a long silence where she had no idea what John was thinking, whether he was planning on breaking up with her right there or if he wanted to do something about their situation.

"John, I don't know anything for certain in my life right now, but I know that I love you and that won't ever change."

John breathed a sigh. "Shayera, if you want to be in this relationship with me you have to let me in. You have to be able to tell me what's on your mind."

"I honestly don't know if I know how to do that." Shayera said quietly

"Then you have to figure out how before we can move on." John said as he grabbed the check and paid. When he came back, Shayera was gone.

Shayera please figure it out, I won't have much to live for without you.


	5. Chapter 5: Friday

**Hello all!!! Sorry I've been gone for awhile and even before that I didn't do author notes so uh yeah, I've been screwing up. *pause for audience to laugh*. Not funny? Ok nevermind. I wanted to thank everyone for the reviews and favorites and dragonscales00 for the shoutout he gave me on his story (check him out he's an awesome writer).**

 **Without further ado, chapter 5 of The Tinkling Piano.**

 **Enjoy!!! :)**

 ** _-000-_**

 **The Tinkling Piano**

I threw up blood today.

It was all behind the bleachers at school. Eating day-old food or something is what I hope the problem is but the rational part of my brain knows that's not true. I think that I should go to the doctor but we don't have the money for it, plus the doctor would most likely make me quit track altogether which is simply not an option.

 _You're just gonna have to tough this one out West._

I laugh at how much my thoughts sound like things Coach would say to me, but I grow deathly serious when I realize the potential dangers of my actions. There's not much that I can do to help take care of Shayera so I have to do this. I would do anything for her. I have to do anything for her because no one else will.

I stop on a street corner waiting for the light to change.

I remember she came home crying last night and she wouldn't tell me what was going on. She locked herself in her room and wouldn't come out or talk to me at all. I sat outside her door all night waiting for the sobs to stop, but they never did. I tried everything then I played the tinkling piano and somewhere halfway through she stopped. I couldn't hear anything from her room. No crying, no shuffling, not even her breathing.

At that point, I decided that I had done all I could and so I went to sleep. This morning when I woke up, she wasn't home. Her door was open but her shoes were gone so I assume she went to work but I'm nervous that something might have happened to her.

The light changes and I walk across the street to the little apartment we call home.

 ** _-000-_**

When I walk into the apartment, Shayera is sitting on the couch in the front room. I'm so surprised that she's there I can't move, I can't speak.

"Shay?" My voice sounds like that of a weak child.

She looks up at me and smiles, just a little, just enough to show that she's still alive. "Hey Wally."

My happiness quickly turns to seething anger. "Shayera," I begin but I don't get much farther when I see her expression.

As soon as she hears my tone, the smile on her face vanishes. It gets replace by a look I've never seen on her face. She looks so weak, so tired, almost cornered. Her eyes so much wider than usual, her lips pressed so tightly together, they're white. I've never seen her look so small.

I think she's afraid of me.

I feel all my anger melt away. "Shayera," I say it much softer this time.

She doesn't look at me.

"Shayera," I try again, the pleading evident in my voice.

She speaks but doesn't look in my direction. "Wally, sit down, we have talk."

I sit down and she still won't look at me.

 ** _-000-_**

After our little talk, I go to the track to train for the meet tomorrow. After my talk with Shayera, I was pretty angry. How could she have an entire boyfriend for so long and not tell me anything about it? I get to the track and sit down because I can't think straight. And who should be there? None other than John, the guy who my sister is crying over.

He walks over and sits next to me in the grass. "Hey kid, oh wait I'm sorry, hello Flash." He smiles as though the joke he made was funny.

I scoot a little ways away from him. "Not in the mood today John."

He gets a sympathetic look on his face. "What's the matter kid?"

That gets me more than a little angry. "Oh nothing really, just the fact that you broke my sisters heart yesterday!"

"I've never met your sister kid."

I turn to him. "Oh yeah? The name Shayera West doesn't ring any bells?" I say almost spitting.

John goes stiff at the mention of Shayeras name. "Wait, you're Shayera brother?" He turns to me wide eyed.

I exasperatedly sigh. "Yes John, I'm Shayeras brother."

There's a long pregnant silence after which John chuckles.

"You obviously don't understand how pissed with you I am right now." I say sounding indignant.

"Sorry, it just occurred to me that I never beat you in a race but now I know your name, Wally." He says.

I stiffen, then slump my shoulders and sigh. "Crap."

We sit in silence and I'm not sure what John is thinking but I hope its along the lines of his apology. I watch some as people run around around the track imagining what they're lives are like. I imagine that they all are happy and satisfied and they run around the track without a care in the world.

I wish I could be like them.

I happen to glance over at John and can't help but think that him and Shay would actually make a cute couple. I shake my head as if to try to get rid of the thought.

"Wally," he starts

"What now?" I snap at him. He actually looks kind of hurt but I could care less at the moment.

"How is she? We didn't end on the best of terms yesterday.

I narrow my eyes at him and look away before answering. "She's a mess. She spent the night crying and she stopped at some point but when I woke up this morning she was gone. When I got back from school, she was there but I'm not sure if she's still there now or what." I turn back to him. "Make no mistake John, I blame you for her current emotional state and you will pay."

John nods as if he could possibly understand what I'm going through. "I'm sorry Wally. I never meant for any of this to happen but I need you to know that I am in love with Shayera. I love her with all my heart and that won't ever change."

I can't listen to this. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. She already filled me in on you're guys relationship and stuff."

John breathes a sigh of relief. "Whew, good. I'm glad. It seems you guys have a pretty good relationship."

"Yeah, we're pretty okay when shes not hiding secret boyfriends from me." I say mouth full of sarcasm.

John scratches the back of his head. "Sorry about that. She didn't tell me that she was hiding me from you."

I shrug and roll my eyes hoping it conveys the attitude I feel.

"I would hope she's not reconsidering our engagement."

Just the word engagement fires me up again. "That's another thing that pisses me off about this whole thing, you never thought to ask me about it. Just so you know, you won't get a cosign from me."

John just looks away and I smile cause I kind of feel like a won this.

"You know Wally," it's still weird hearing him say my actual name. "She may be your sister, but she is my everything. You may have lived with her your whole life, but I will live with her for the rest of my life. You may love each other like siblings, but we love with a love that is more than love."

I show it on my face that I am seething with anger but on the inside its a whole other story.

 _Holy crap! Not only does this guy hold my sisters heart, but I'm pretty sure he just quoted Poe!_

John isn't done though. "Frankly, I don't care what you think Wally. I know from the bottom of my heart that she loves me just as much as I do her. So don't give me your cosign, I don't want it. I will marry her and I will take care of her, make no mistake about that."

 _Oh! He just threw my own words back at me! I'm actually kind of proud of him._

I'm quickly broken from my admiration when I remember that he is the enemy. "Don't forget John," I try to say his name with as much malice as I can muster. "Shayera may love you, but she loves me more. If you guys do get married, I will be coming along to live with you and make your life a living hell."

He smiles in a way that I don't like. "By the time we get married you'll be in college, judging by the way you come to the track almost religiously, you have a scholarship to some ivy league school where you will be maintaining a B average so you can keep running track. Am I right?" He smirks now because he knows he's got me beat.

 _Wow, he's smat too! I'm starting to see why Shay likes this guy so much._ There's a long pause. "I hate you."

John does that annoying smirk. "Yeah, I figured so, but Shayera doesn't."

"It's for that one reason I will tolerate you."

"Okay Wally," he stands up "You ready to run?"

I stand up with him. "Sure John."

 ** _-000-_**

When I get home, Shayera is in the same position on the couch as when I left except now she's asleep. When I look at her her in this position she some how seems so vulnerable, so weak. I start to understand why she needed John. I always imagine that she's so weak and fragile without me but I never think about her in any other way.

She's strong. Strong enough to take care of me during the hardest years of both of our lives. I realize that I can be strong because I have someone to be strong for. I have the goal of doing more for myself because it means so much for Shayera.

Maybe she does what she does because it means more for me.

I don't think I will ever completely understand her but I don't think I'll need to because she's just like me and like John I realize. The people around her are her first priority. Can I really fault her for doing what she thought was in my best interest?

I'm tempted to wake her up and tell her all this but she probably hasn't gotten much sleep in awhile so I let her alone. I sit at the piano with my hands poised to play the tinkling piano but I decide not to. For awhile I really imagined that I shouldn't run track but that was me being selfish. Shayera always worried about me and track was her way of giving me something to live for. But she was always the only thing I lived for.

I decide I'm going to play it one last time. As I play I don't just hear the notes, I feel the vibrations rock me to my core. Each individual note plucks at the strings of my soul and together they mean everything to me. They fall when I do and they rise when I do. I've never felt more connected to this song than I am now. This song encompasses my whole being. I can never let it go. Its more than just a song.

This is my epithet.

When I finish I look at Shayera and she looks so much more relaxed. Like she heard the song in her dream and it gave her the peace of mind John and I never could. At that point, I decide to write it down, the song in its entirety so I never forget and and keep it to remember the way it made me feel.

 _ **000-**_

 **I have to say that writing the parts where Wally is playing the piano are my absolute favorite!!!**

 **Read and review!!! :)**


	6. Chapter 6: Saturday

**Hello all! Yes, I'm late again. I honestly mean to update every monday but as you can see, that hasn't been happening. Being a writer is tough and I have a newfound respect for all those writers on the site who publish every few days. But enough about me, here's the second the last Chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

 ** _-000-_**

The Tinkling Piano

Shayera woke up gently. She had fallen asleep on the couch with her clothes on from the previous day. She had a blanket over her so Wally must've forgiven her or at least was willing to think about forgiving her. She sat up and stretched.

 _Oh God, my back. I have to remember to stop falling asleep on the couch._

She went to the bathroom and after showering and relieving herself, she went into her room and found clothes to put on. She worn a thin sweater with thin horizontal stripes and a pair of jeans.

When she came out, she saw Wally sitting on the couch twiddling his thumbs.

"Hey," she said awkwardly, still unsure of whether or not he was still mad at her.

He turned his head to her and the biggest smile showed up on his face. He jumped up and gave her a hug. "Hey Shayera! How was your sleep? Did you get enough rest?"

"Um, it was fine." She said still a little unsure about the whole situation. "How are you? You don't seem like you're upset with me anymore."

He made a face that said: _Are you crazy? I could never be mad at you._ "What? No. It's okay, I think I'm starting to understand why you would want to keep a boyfriend away from me." He made a face as though he was struggling to accept the fact but then it was replaced with that enormous smile. "Plus, I kind of see that John is a pretty ok dude."

Shayera breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad Wally, I truly- Wait. How did you know his name?"

"Well, that's a funny story." The doorbell rang. "Whew, saved by the bell, literally." He said as he ran to get the door.

Shayera racked her brain to try and figure out who was coming to their door this early in the morning, the only people she could think of were the Jehovah's Witnesses. Her questions were answered when Wally came around the corner with John behind him.

Shayera nearly screamed. "What is he doing here?!" She pointed a finger at John.

John for his part looked nervous and the slightest bit uncomfortable.

Wally though kept smiling as if nothing was wrong. "He's here to take us to breakfast, duh. Let me grab my track stuff and we can go." Wally ran off to his room leaving Shayera and John alone.

She just kept staring incredulously as if John would disappear at any second.

John still looked slightly uncomfortable but he still tried to ease the tension. "Shay, I know I'm probably the last person that you want to see and you probably want me in your house even less than that but I couldn't let you go without saying I forgive you."

"You forgive me?" She said, her expression remaining unchanged.

John only nodded. "After what happened Thursday, I thought about how you might have felt and realized that you wanted forgiveness over anything. I know a little about how keeping all that bottled up inside will tear you up, so I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt on this one."

Shayera found she couldn't enunciate what she wanted to say so she just walked over and wrapped her arms around him. He had said exactly what she didn't know how to say, what she was too afraid to say. It was in that moment that she made the decision to never leave him ever again. She felt as though she belonged to him, and he belonged to her.

 ** _-000-_**

Wally came flying back into the room with his track bag on his back.

"Ok, I'm ready let's go!" With that he ran out of the door expect them to follow him.

John and Shayera just stared at where he was and each one of them smirked.

"Is he always like that?" John asked

"Actually, no. He's usually smiling but he isn't so all over the place like this."

John replied with a grunt and followed Wally out to his car.

Wally of course shouted shotgun as soon as they got outside.

"Wally, you're not sitting in the front when both me and Shayera are here." John smiled at the child-like persona he seemed to be exhibiting but Shayera was blushing slightly.

 _Wait a second,_ John thought, _is the way Wally's acting in front of me embarrassing her?_

John grinned wildly at the different way she was acting when Wally was around. He quite liked it.

"So where would you guys like to eat? My treat." John asked after they got settled into his car.

"Um, whatever you'd like is fine." Shayera said in a shy sounding voice.

John looked at her suspiciously but didn't question it. "Okay how about Olsen's?"

Wally popped his his head between John and Shayera. "That super fancy place? No way! We shall be going to the pancake house, turn left."

John looked to Shayera but she didn't seem to have any objections so John turned left.

John could practically feel Wally grinning in the back seat.

"So John, have you ever been to the pancake house?"

"I cannot say that I have, but you seem to like it so it must be pretty great."

"Oh yes! They have these chocolate strawberry pancakes that are to die for! Are you ready to die John?"

John looked shocked. "Well, what a philosophical question Wally."

Shayera laughed. "He means that you'll have to die after eating these pancakes of the amount of sugar the put in them."

"It's like diabetes on a plate!" Wally chimed in.

John was quiet for a few moments. "I should probably go buy some insulin huh?"

Wally and Shayera burst out laughing while John only smiled and quietly thanked God he had such great friends.

 ** _-000-_**

After we got a table in the restaurant, I began to explain to John intricacies of the famous chocolate pancakes. He didn't seem all that interested though and I can't blame him. If my girlfriend and her brother came out to eat with me I would be more focused on her too. At a particularly, shall we say, raunchy part where it sounds as if I'm describing a woman instead of a food item, Shayera interrupts.

"Wally, it's starting to get a little weird." She says.

I try to look as if I hadn't done it purposely and say: "My apologies, sometimes when i start talking about my sweet mistress, I can't stop the flow of emotion that gushes forth." I smile evilly afterward.

Shayera covers her face with one hand and sighs while John just smiles.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom, don't make any jokes til I get back."

I do my evil smile again. "No promises."

She rolls her eyes and leaves the table.

"So now serious talk huh?" John tries.

"Yeah I guess so. Something has been bothering me since yesterday."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, when we were discussing Shayera being with you, you referenced Edgar Allan Poe. You described your love with Shayera like he did in his poem about Annabel Lee."

John looks down. "Yeah, they didn't end up so well."

"No they didn't, but if you hadn't said that line, I probably wouldn't be okay with this arrangement. Poetry is one of my favorite hobbies and I figured that you liked it too so maybe I could share some of my favorites with you."

John doesn't say anything after so I start off with something.

 _When I am dead, my dearest,_

 _Sing no sad songs for me;_

 _Plant thou no roses at my head,_

 _Nor shady cypress tree:_

 _Be the green grass above me_

 _With showers and dewdrops wet;_

 _And if thou wilt, remember,_

 _And if thou wilt, forget._

 _I_ _shall not see the shadows,_

 _I shall not feel the rain_ _;_

 _I shall not hear the nightingale_

 _Sing on, as if in pain;_

 _And dreaming through the twilight_

 _That doth not rise nor set,_

 _Haply I may remember,_

 _And haply may forget._

When I finish, John is looking at me with his mouth open.

"Too serious?"

"Wally, that was beautiful."

"Yep, far too serious. Forget Shayera let's make some jokes. A man is walking-,"

"Wait," John interrupts me. "You're just gonna brush over that like it was nothing?"

I ponder what he says for a moment. "Yeah."

 ** _-000-_**

Shayera is sitting in the front seat again as they were on their way to the school for Wally's track meet. Wally had been strangely quiet on the ride there. It unnerved Shayera.

"Hey, what's wrong Wally? Don't tell me you're out of one-liners."

He barely smiled at her joke. "I'm fine, just a little tired. Not being able to eat before a race is a really sucky drawback of track."

"Yeah, especially since you had to watch me eat your mistress." John added with a smile.

"Ugh, don't remind me." Wally moaned.

Both Shayera and John chuckled at that. They pulled up to the school and Wally hopped out as soon as the car stopped. He started running to the door.

Shayera didn't let him get very far. "Wally! Get back here!"

Wally froze and immediately started running backward. Everyone in the parking lot sniggered.

"Yes mother?" He smirked.

She hugged him tightly and whispered into his ear. "This is it Wally, you win this and it will mean everything for us. We'll finally be able to live normal lives. You can have your own life and I can be with John. It all depends on you, I love you dearly Wallace Rudolph West."

"Yeah, I love you too Shayera Hol West. Yeah, I know your middle name too!" They both laughed. "Seriously though, no worries." Wally said loud enough so John heard.

"That's right!" John's voice surprised the both of them. "With all the smack talk you dish out to me on an almost daily basis you had better win!"

Wally started walking toward the entrance again. "I don't know John, maybe I feel like being you today." with that he ran into the building, John's righteous indignation following him.

Shayera laughed, happy that the two most important men in her life were treating each other like brothers.

 ** _-000-_**

I walked in the locker room, Shayeras's words hanging heavily upon me. There were a few other guys in there changing or getting ready. They all greeted me with high-fives and words of encouragement because they all knew I was the star athlete today. They knew that I would bring them to victory. These were my teammates and I would rather die let them down.

I would rather die than let Shayera down.

 ** _-000-_**

Shayera and John ended up sitting almost at the top of the stands, being that it was the only available place to sit.

"Look at it this way," John reasoned "Now we can see him the entire time he's on the track."

Shayera smiled slightly at John's attempt at humor.

"Shayera, smile. You look so much happier when you do." John touched her delicate hand with his own larger hand.

She pulled away.

"Shayera, he will be fine. He can beat anyone."

"What about Eobard Thawne?"

"Who?"

"He's a kid that goes to another school in a city not too far from here.

His times on the 400-meter dash are almost identical to Wally's. At his school, they nicknamed him Professor Zoom because he taught all the other kids to be fast like him."

It was then that John noticed she was visibly shaking so he put his arm around her. It didn't help her to stop but it helped her to calm down just enough so she wasn't a complete wreck.

John, Shayera thought, you always know how make me feel better.

 ** _-000-_**

I clutch my head as I feel the vertigo attack again.

 _No, please not today, I need my mind today!_

The edges of my vision start to darken and I'm watching all my teammates walk by because Coach is calling them so I jump up and follow them and on the way my vision returns to normal.

That's the only thing about me that's normal right now though. I'm feeling lightheaded, the back of my neck is a few thousand degrees too hot, I'm shaking, and I feel nauseous. Needless to say I'm in no condition to do anything other than curl up into a ball and wither away so don't even get me started on the fact that I need to somehow win this race. I decide to drink some water but that just makes it worse. I go into the bathroom and throw up the water I just drank.

When I return, Coach has got everyone psyched and ready to win. They all run out onto the field and I run with them because they are my team. They are with me even though they don't know I feel like I'm going to die.

I sit out the first couple events but it's only because coach wants me at my best when I do the 400-meter dash. He wants me at my best to destroy Eobard Thawne. I don't know if that's even possible in my current condition, but I have to try.

I try to focus on how my other teammates are doing and it helps a little. They do very well but almost every time, someone from Thawne's team blows them away. They all have very good endurance and stamina, it worry's me. Thawne is supposed to be faster than all of them and they're all giving my team a run for their money. Does that mean that he'll beat me just as bad?

I'm so deep in thought I don't hear coach call me for the 400-meter dash. I run up to him and he puts his hand on my shoulder. "Son, you get out there and you destroy him. He isn't like any other for you've faced on the track, this is Lucifer himself trying to keep a spot in heaven. Kick him out."

Coach always knows what to say, I grin harder than I have in a long time and take my place in row 3. There's so much adrenaline coursing through me right now I'm giddy and shaking uncontrollably and nauseous and I honestly just don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad one.

Thawne walks past me to get into his starting position. "So you're Wally West? Everyone told me that you're my competition." He says with a smirk.

"Funny, everyone told me you're a pushover." I say still giddy.

Thawne looks mad. "Well, we'll just see about that!" He spits. His row is right next to mine and he's starting directly forward and to my right so I'll be able to see him, hopefully not for long though.

We all get in position as the starter holds up his gun. I'm ready. All my muscles tense when he says _On your Mark!_

Thawne is just as tense too I see when he says _Get Set!_

Then, at the worst possible second, the vertigo hits me like a train. Forget the dark vision, my head is pounding and I nearly throw up again. I don't even hear the gun go off, I just feel the two people behind me blow past as I struggle with my breathing.

The roar of the crowd brings me back or actually one voice in particular. It's very guttural and it makes my ears hurt. I don't know why it's the one voice my brain picks out from all the others but it is. I look up and I see Thawnes evil smile. At that point, all of my focus came together to produce one thought:

 _Kick him out!_

I start hobbling forward, and then trotting, and then I start to run at my normal pace but then decide that it isn't good enough. Everything gets really quiet and I can only see the path forward. Usually my motivation is Shayera but today I feel something else. I feel the desperation of my teammates, of Coach, even John. It spurs me forward. I run like I've never run before.

By now, I'm halfway around the track and I notice that Thawne is only a few feet in front of me. Then he's next to me. I look at his face, not really comprehending what's going on right in front of him. I can't help it when the giddiness comes back so hard I laugh in his face. Not just a giggle came out either, it's a laugh that comes from deep inside and I almost slow down but then I see Shayera and John at the top of the stands and that's all in need.

To see them cheering and yelling my name, I couldn't have asked for anything more. I kick it into high gear and leave Thawne in the dust and then there's nothing. Nothing in my way of victory. Nothing between me and the finish line. It was at that moment that I finally accepted John into our family. He was a father figure to me for so long and I didn't know it. Shayera took care of me like my mother, and I'll love her forever for it.

Five steps away.

 _I wonder how John felt about the poem._

Four steps away.

 _I wonder if we'll all move in with him._

Three steps away.

 _I wonder if I'll find someone like that._

Two steps away.

 _Nah._

One step away.

 _Shayera and John are my foster parents, they have been the whole time._

Victory.

 _Suck it Lucifer!_

 ** _-000-_**

"Wally beat them by an enormous margin!" John is jumping up and down. "I've never seen such a comeback!"

He's freaking out outwardly but all I can do is look at my younger brother with pride. All these years we've struggled and fought and failed, they were all worth it for this one moment. This one moment where we win the day.

I'm crying and John picks me up by the waist and spins around with me in his arms. I'm laughing now with tears in my eyes. I've been holding this burden for so long with Wally but now it's gone.

The pain is finally gone.

We're not the only ones who are happy with his accomplishment. The entire crowd almost is roaring Wally's name. His teammates are down there yelling and screaming around him. The coach just has a solid smirk on his face. Through all of that, Wally looks up directly at me. He smiles and it's almost if he's talking to me telepathically.

 _Shay, thank you. I love you. I'm sorry._

 _Sorry?_

I stop smiling immediately, something is wrong. Something is very wrong. I don't know what it is, just that I have to get down to him as fast as possible.

"Wally!" I scream the desperation clear in my voice. I'm running down the stands to get to him but it's too late.

He sees me coming and smiles, it's annoying because he knows something is wrong and he won't do anything about it. His face relaxes and he falls back but everyone's too busy cheering to notice.

He hits the ground just before I get to him.

 ** _-000-_**

 **Reminder: this isnt the last chapter. There will be one more and uh, yeah.**

 **Read and Review :)**


	7. Chapter 7: Sunday (7 years later)

**Hey everyone! As per the norm, I am late and I am deeply sorry. :( But good news: this is the final chapter of The Tinkling Piano...wait that's just more bad news. Nevermind, just have a box of tissues ready because this will hit you right in the feels.**

 **Enjoy!**

 ** _-000-_**

 **The Tinkling Piano**

 ** _-000-_**

There's always that moment when I wake up and realize that I'm still alive. I always check my pulse to assure myself that I'm not a zombie or something. I'm always tempted to wake John up and tell him my every stray thought, but I don't. He always looks so peaceful and I don't want to be the one to break it.

 _Besides_ , I tell myself, _this is the only time he isn't stressed._

I get up though and go into the kitchen, where I like to write. Dr. Desmond says I should write whatever I feel, that I shouldn't censor my thoughts in some circumstances. During our sessions the rule seems fine, outside of his office though, it's much more deceptively difficult to do.

I pull out my notebook and the purple pen I also use and start writing.

 ** _Journal entry 26:_**

 _Most people would start out a journal entry with dear diary or something similar. I don't obviously because I'm too lazy? No. Maybe I just don't want to be like everyone else? That's a little closer. I don't see the point in writing each entry if Dr. Desmond doesn't want me to ever read any of the earlier ones and doesn't want me to stop writing for a whole 20 minutes. Most times I just get board and I stop writing my thoughts because they're too confusing. At times like that, I just write about whatever is going on around me. Usually, I try to describe John's smile or his laugh to the best of my ability or describe the way Wally's cute laugh is. I remember one time I just the numbers from 1 to 324. Like now I want to write about how beautiful John is when he sleeps. He just came into the kitchen though, I thought he would still be asleep._

"Good morning," he says to me.

"Good morning." I reply in a monotone.

"It's a beautiful day, maybe we could do something outside today, Wally would love that."

"Yeah, he would…." I reply still not listening.

He walks around the table toward me. "Shayera, love, you're doing it again." He says taking my hand.

"Doing what again?" I say slowly pulling my hand away.

"You're ignoring me." He says it with a twinge of anger in his voice.

I look up and I see the anger on his face.

"I'm sorry," I say. "I'm not trying to ignore you, I just…." I don't finish the sentence before I start crying. John doesn't envelope me in a hug. He used to do that every time I cried but now I can tell that he doesn't want to have to take care of me all the time anymore.

I don't stay in the room any longer than I have to. I run to our room and collapse on the bed. John doesn't come in to check on me, he doesn't come to ask if I'm alright. He already knows the answer and he doesn't want to be reminded of the hell I suffer everyday.

 ** _-000-_**

I wake up from crying myself to sleep and John is sitting up next to me playing on his tablet. I scooch closer to him and he looks down at me a little soft eyed. I stare back up at his beautiful emerald eyes. I don't know why but this makes me smile.

"That's a beautiful smile, you should do that more often." John says.

This only makes smile more. "I'm sorry, I can't ever empathize with people when I'm numb like that."

John only nods and returns to his tablet.

He's mad at me.

"Maybe we could do something outside with Wally, like you suggested earlier." I'm trying to make amends but I don't think he wants to right now.

He smiles slightly, only one corner of his mouth turns upward slightly. "Yeah, okay." He jumps up and speedwalks to get Wally. I can tell he's overjoyed at spending the day with us.

I walk to the kitchen, realizing it's my favorite room in the house. I sit at the table and fantasize about a day with my family. I'm actually feeling much better when John comes into the room frantically.

"John? What's the matter?"

"Wally, I can't find him anywhere." John says, the desperation evident in his voice.

John has always been nervous about taking care of Wally, he always worries about whether or not Wally likes him but I always reassure him that Wally has love for him.

"Well, he couldn't have gotten too far."

As I say this, Wally comes barreling through the room at breakneck speed. John is barely able to grab him before he's in the next room. Wally looks up at him with wide eyes and an incredulous grin on his face.

 _He reminds me so much of his uncle._

He's only wearing a pair of shorts so all I can see is his dark-skinned upper body and his curly red hair. It's one of the strangest combinations of skin color and hair color I've ever seen but he is my son and I love him even more for it.

 _He is our son, and we love him._

While John lovingly chews his son out, I look at the wall above them and see the last family picture I took with my parents and my little brother. My parents stood over us and Wally was on my right. We smiled the way you smile when you think nothing bad will ever happen to your family, that you'll all live forever without a care in the world.

I wish it were still that blissful time, because as of now, I'm the only one still alive in the picture.

 ** _-000-_**

"So Shayera, how was your week?" Dr. Desmond asks me.

"It was ok, I had an argument with John Sunday though."

"Really?" He responds as he writes down something on his little clipboard. I hate that. "What did you guys argue about?"

I hesitate. He sees it.

"It's okay Shayera, remember anything you say here falls under doctor-patient confidentiality." He's trying to reassure me.

"It's not that, I just don't know how to act in a way that keep us from getting into it."

"Ok," he writes down something else. "And what is it that you two were arguing about?"

"He was saying that I was always ignoring him and I didn't want to say that I just didn't feel like talking because he would have taken that as me not caring about him and not as a symptom of my depression." I kind of shock myself when I say it out loud. It makes it almost too real for me.

Dr. Desmond notices my discomfort when I mention depression. "Is something wrong Shayera?"

"No." I lie through my teeth and look away.

Dr. Desmond looks at me hard for a moment then looks away. He pretends to write on his clipboard and prolong the silence. I hate when he writes anything on that clipboard, it makes me feel like I've done something wrong. I know he's doing that though because he wants me to talk about why I'm depressed but I don't want to.

After a few minutes, all that I can think about is Wally. So I give in and tell Dr. Desmond what I know he wants to hear.

"He's gone and I know I can't change that but it doesn't mean I can't be sad about it." I say defiantly.

Dr. Desmond sits forward. He's kind of chubby and like an over thirty-something with glasses. He has no hair on the top of his head, only the sides but he's kind of Jolly most of the time so he's easy to talk to.

"Shayera, it's been seven years since Wally passed and almost a decade since your parents were in that car accident. It's okay not to forget them, but it's not okay to keep living as if they never left."

I hate Dr. Desmond. Somehow, he sees through the simplest of my lies.

"You can't just stay in denial Shayera."

He's always right though.

"Tell me about what happened to him."

I take a deep breath. "He was an athlete. Specifically, he ran track and he was the fastest in the league at the time." I laugh dryly. "Sorry, it was just such a long time ago and I didn't realize it until just now."

Dr. Desmond smirks and waits for me to continue.

"I worked a near minimum wage job so we didn't do things we should have like go to the doctor and things like that. If we had, we might have found out that he had an enlarged heart. He might have been disqualified, but he might still be alive today. But I couldn't see past his ticket to a better life, I couldn't see past the here and now. It's my fault he's dead, I can't blame it on him or anyone else." I can feel my eyes watering up so I don't want to say anything else.

"Shayera," Dr. Desmond also has a soothing voice, which is also probably why he's good at his job. "It's good that you were able to admit this to yourself, but from all the times that we've talked about your brother, you always make him sound like the kind of person that would die before he was a burden to anyone. No pun intended."

"I know," I push back tears so I can say what I'm about to say. "I love my family so much, but I can't love my new family the way they need, the way they deserve, if I'm too hung up on the past."

Dr. Desmond looks grim but there's a softness to him. Almost like he's hiding the joy. "What are you saying Shayera?"

"I'm saying I want to move on from them, but I need you to help me."

He smiles, he was waiting for me to say that. "Wonderful Shayera, just wonderful! This is the first step towards your goal and, I believe, a huge milestone in your life!"

He can't stop smiling, I hate it and love it at the same time. "What's the next thing for me to do then?"

He sits back with a satisfied look on his face. "I can't tell you that."

"What? Why?" I exclaim confused.

"It's good you've taken this step and I know you're ready for the next one, but it's up to each person to figure out what will help them move on. I had one patient that had a family member die and she couldn't move past it kind of like you. It took her awhile, but she realized that she needed to eulogize the person before she was able to move on. Perhaps you feel that there is something left undone about about the person's life. Is there anything you did with Wally that you've never done with anyone else?"

I pause for a moment. "I don't know, I think I may need to sleep on that one."

"Sounds like a good idea," he checks his watch. "We only have a few minutes left. How has your son been lately?"

"Oh, Wally has been fine. He eats well and loves to run around a lot. He'll be starting school soon so that will be a challenge for us as parents to deal with."

"Good, Shayera I want to ask you something. Why don't you ever call your son 'Rex'?"

"I, uh,..." I don't have a response to that.

"Could it be that you are using your son in the place of your brother?"

I don't have anything in response.

Dr. Desmond keeps going because he is on a roll. "Perhaps calling your son Rex is how you move forward."

I can't say anything because I'm horrified that I could do such a thing to my own child. It's not that I'm calling him that on purpose, I want him to be his own person but the possibility that I'm using him to replace my brother scares me.

It shows me how my condition affects other people, how it shouldn't affect other people. I have to fix this immediately.

"Thanks Dr. Desmond, I have to go." I rush out of his office and out the door because there's a little boy out there who needs to be reminded that his Mother knows his name.

 ** _-000-_**

I walk into the house and find John asleep on one side of the couch and Rex asleep on the other side. The living room is a mess, with pillows thrown about, bags of chips littering the floor, and what I'm sure is a pop stain on one of the pillows.

I step over debris from their adventures and sit in between them. I hug Rex closer to me and whisper to him: "Don't worry, I know your name. I've always known. You're not Wally. You have the hair he does and you run like he does but you are mine. You aren't anyone's replacement, you are original." I chuckle to myself a bit. "You are the only person I know that has dark skin and red hair, the girls will be all over you one day."

I look at my son asleep on my side. His facial features are so soft, his cute little nose and his tiny lips barely moving. The only reason I know he's still alive is because of the way his chest rises and falls rhythmically.

I look over at John getting some sleep after playing with Wally for all the time I've been gone. He's a good father, he is the man I love and I literally had his child. I whisper words to him too. "We've been married for four years now and I have to say, we have been tested. There have been times that I've hated you like the time I was in labor and you thought I was joking around or the time we had that really big fight about where to live. You aggravate me to no end and you tear my heart out whenever we're not together and yet I will never leave you." I look down at my wedding ring and remember the vows I made. "I will never love any man the way I love you."

I squeeze the both of them tightly to me. "I love you both so dearly, don't either one of you leave me ever."

I never want to leave this moment. The only thing that could make this better is if Wally was here playing The Tinkling Piano.

That gives me an idea. I can't believe that I haven't thought of it until now. I stealthily sneak out of their grip and run into the room with Wally's boxes. I rummage through each and every one until I find what I'm looking for. When I find it I run out to the front door past the living room.

Rex has nuzzled underneath John's arm for warmth and it's the most adorable thing I've ever seen. It breaks my heart I have to leave them now of all times but this can't wait.

I'm coming back soon, I mentally promise my child, soon.

 ** _-000-_**

I drive up to the nearest piano and restoration shop and jump out of the car. There's a sign that says the store is closing in 10 minutes so I rush inside quickly.

One of the employees sees me and walks over to me. "Hello ma'am, we're closing in 10 minutes, is there something I could help you with?"

"Yeah, can I talk to your manager or someone who's very good at playing the piano?"

She smiles politely. "Yes of course, one moment please."

She walks away and I look at some of the upright pianos that they have. One looks strikingly similar to the one Wally and I used to own and then I realize that it is the one we used to own. An older gentleman walks over to me. "Hi, how can I help you?"

"I had a personal favor to ask," I pull out the sheet music to The Tinkling Piano that Wally wrote out and present it to the man. "My dad that passed away wrote this and my brother used to play it all the time too before he passed. I was wondering if you would be willing to play it for me. Just so I could hear it one last time."

The man takes the sheet music from me and looks it over for a second. He looks it over so long I'm afraid that he won't play it for me.

 _You idiot! Why would you think that this would work?_

The man flips back to the first page and starts walking toward the upright piano that we used to own. "Sure, I can play this for you."

I almost scream with excitement but I push it down to appear more normal. "Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me!"

He sits at the piano and begins playing. At the first note, I'm transported back in time, into my memories. Back when Wally used to play this to calm me down or help me relax or just for our enjoyment. He didn't know about John then, and he sure was pissed that I kept John a secret.

Back when I lied to John about my parents when he only ever told me the truth. Back when Wally was still alive and still running track. Back when he still was the only person alive that lived with.

I can almost see him at the piano with his red hair and his muscular hands pressing each key. I reach out to him and he isn't there, just a woman awkwardly reaching out for her brothers ghost in a piano store. Normally, I would breakdown and cry myself into the floor, but I've gotten so much stronger in the last few minutes apparently. I don't want to fail, I want to be strong for John and Rex and even Wally's memories in my head.

The man at the piano finishes and stands. "Wow, that's an amazing piece! I don't know if that's the way you wanted me to play it for you but it was still amazing!"

"Yeah, my family was pretty talented." I snap back to reality. "Oh! I should give you something for doing this for me." I dig around in my pocket and pull out a twenty to had to the man but he refuses.

"I couldn't, that was far too beautiful."

"Well I can let your kindness go unrewarded." I try.

The man smiles in a way that reminds me of Dr. Desmond. "How about you let me keep the sheet music and come in every once in awhile to hear it, sound like a fair trade?"

I smile. "Deal." I shake his hand. "My name is Shayera Stewart, by the way. What's yours?"

"Jay, Jay Garrick. I hope to see you again soon Shayera."

He escorts me out of the store and wishes me a goodnight.

When I get back to the car, I'm so relieved I don't know what to do with myself. I think of my parents and Wally and how I never want to forget them but then I think of John and Rex who need me now. I want to give them my best love.

I start the car and start driving toward them, because they are where my heart is.

 ** _-000-_**

 **That's all folks, thanks for taking the time to read my story. If you enjoyed this one, you might enjoy my other fic _Ahsokas Song._ It's a Star Wars: The Clone Wars fic so I hope you guys enjoy that if you're interested. Also shoutout to my reviewers:**

 **Drangonscales00**

 **Theawesomeflash**

 **Meow**

 **Vielvilandra**

 **Yugalie123**

 **Thanks guys so much! You gave me the motivation to finish it and here we are! In case anyone was wondering, I got the idea for the name from a song called These Foolish Things by Ella Fitzgerald. It's one of the lines in it and it just has this ineffable quality to it.**

 **Read and Review! :)**


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